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Colour’s coming home!

Home to spinning for over 100 years, 20 brand new shades of Stylecraft Special DK are being dyed, spun and balled in Stylecraft’s Spa Mill in the Colne Valley. Eventually all 120 shades in the range will be manufactured here, and Sales & Marketing Director Annabelle Hill says, “Bringing Special back to Yorkshire has been our dream, and it makes us the only end-to-end acrylic hand knit spinner in Western Europe.” Look out for our patterns in the new shades coming soon!

FOR THE KIDS

Hannah Cross of HanJan Crochet has released a new collection of garments for little ones just in time for Christmas. The Franny Granny Kids Collection includes four designs to fit newborns to 10 years: a Granny Stitch Cardigan, Sweater, Dress and Hoodie. Flexible designs allow for colour changes, adjustable sleeves, lengths and more. All planned for DK weight yarn, they come with a video tutorial. The pattern is in US terms with a conversion chart if you prefer UK terms. Visit www.hanjancrochet.com

NEW FOR NOVEMBER

Look out for Gudrun Johnston’s Christmas collection, out 19 November. Handicrafts are key; it’s inspired by trad Norwegian rose painting, Indian block print and Greek embroidery, with a vibrant palette of blues and reds. Visit www. gudrunsjoden.com

A FESTIVE FEAST

You may remember that footballer Marcus Rashford partnered with charity FareShare Greater Manchester during the early days of the pandemic (find out more at www.faresharegm.co.uk). Part of the FareShare UK network, each year the charity rescues 1,000s of tons of food waste, redistributing it to over 300 food banks, charities and community groups. FareShare Marketing Lead and Making Stitches podcaster Lindsay Weston has designed a wreath pattern based on a Christmas dinner, and is selling it to raise funds for the charity. She says, “Sticking with the food theme, I designed a wreath based on a Christmas dinner. Every £5 donated provides food for a person for a week, so money from the pattern will have a big impact”. Visit the MakingStitchesShop on Etsy to buy the pattern.